1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer driven by data from a host computer when in an on-line mode and irresponsive thereto when in an off-line mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional printers of this type are provided with a first group of switches for various operations and selections of functions in the on-line mode, and a second group of switches for various operations and selections of functions in the off-line mode. These switches in the first and second groups are arranged on the same plane in a main body of the printer.
According to such a conventional arrangement, since a large number of key switches are required, the printer becomes complex in structure and a large space is required to arrange these key switches, thereby disadvantageously providing a bulky printer.
In view of these drawbacks, it has been proposed to arrange a plurality of versatile switches each having a plurality of functions, and a function selection key switch for selecting one of the functions of the versatile function switch. Upon successively depressing the function selection key switch and one of the versatile switches in the stated order, one of the functions assigned to the depressed versatile switch can be achieved. That is, various functions can be selectively achieved by a single versatile switch.
Nevertheless, with the structure described above it is very troublesome to perform the selecting operation of the function selection switch, and therefore, erroneous operation may often occur.